Eldon Wilwert (1939-2019)

WILWERT, THEISEN, MARTELLE

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 6/12/2019 at 19:05:38

Eldon C. "LD" Wilwert, 80 of North Buena Vista, formerly of Dubuque, passed away on June 11th, 2019 at Guttenberg Municipal Hospital.

Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday June 14th, 2019 at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road. A motorcycle procession will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 15th, at the funeral home to Immaculate Conception Church, North Buena Vista where funeral mass will begin at 11:00 a.m. Entombment will be at a later date in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Dubuque, IA.

Eldon was born on April 25, 1939, in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of Mathew and Alma (Theisen) Wilwert.

Eldie's first love was motorcycles. He loved to fly through the streets of Dubuque before he was 16. He met the second love of his life when he was 17, Dorothy Martelle. They married on December 28, 1958.

They opened their first Harley-Davidson dealership out of a small garage in Key West, Iowa; later moving to Bluff and Dodge Street. They then moved the dealership to 19th & Jackson and stayed there until April 1989, when they moved to Nightengale Lane. They retired in 1998 and spent their winters in Leesburg, FL.

During Eldie's life, he enjoyed racing Harley-Davidson motorcycles on the flat track circuit, and racing Arctic Cat snowmobiles, receiving championships for both, many times.

Eldie enjoyed fishing and would spend time over the years in Brainerd, MN and Bass Camp; along with snowmobiling in Eagle River/St Germaine, WI with friends and family. He also enjoyed his hunting trips with friends. He loved to gamble and play cards.

Eldon belonged to the Hawkeye Motorcycle Club, working the rider gate at the Dickeyville Hillclimb, the 660 Club, the Dubuque Men's Association and the Dubuque Men's Bowling Association.

Eldon is survived by his wife, Dorothy, of 60 years; sons Clay (Janelle), Todd (Jena), Dane (Lynette) and daughter Wendy. Grandchildren: Tristan (Shayne), Tiara (Ryan) Steffen, Chad (Carrie), Dustin (Emily), Jacob (Sydney Feller), Tyler and Addison. Step-Grandchildren: Brandon (Kristen) Dirksen and Jeremy (Kerry) Bickett. Great-Grandchildren: Anika, Colby, Silas, Dason, Corbyn and Paxton Wilwert, Remington and Lilian Steffen. Step-Great-Grandchildren: Mia and Max Dirksen. In-laws: Joe Sutter, Genevieve Dement, LaVern (Marge) Martelle, Jeanne (Don) Schonhoff, Chuck (Barb) Martelle and Susie Martelle, along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Matt and Alma Wilwert, great-grandchildren: Ashton and Cooper Wilwert, in-laws: Cliff (Gilda) Martelle, Eileen Sutter, Ira Dement, Marlene (Frank) Miller, Raymond Martelle.

The family would like to thank all the health care professionals that cared for Eldie over the years; especially the Leesburg Regional Memorial Hospital in Florida, the Guttenberg Municipal Hospital, the Guttenberg Care Center and St. Croix Hospice.